Disputes over refugee counts froze funding at an arbitrary 700,000 figure.

Evidence

Following disagreements between the Somali National Refugee Commission and representatives of the major donor countries a head-count of camp residents was attempted in November 1981, but reports of irregularities in the counting procedures led to further controversy and both sides agreed, reluctantly, on a compromise ‘planning figure’ of 700,000. The Somali authorities strenuously resisted all further attempts to elucidate the number and demographic character of the camp-based refugee population, insisting that there were many more camp refugees than the planning figure, to say nothing of the unregistered ‘invisible refugees’ living in the homes of relatives and absorbed into the general population. This led to the absurd situation in which the arbitrary 1981 planning figure remained as a frozen statistic despite the dynamic demographic picture in the camps, with births and deaths and new arrivals as well as departures. — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 590

Categorization

• QUESTION: Why did the Somali authorities resist demographic inquiry so strongly? There’s likely political motive worth investigating.
• XREF: connects to: The 1981 refugee planning figure froze at 700,000 despite demographic change

Related

• The 1981 refugee planning figure froze at 700,000 despite demographic change (similarity 0.97)